The burst of activity began after the Students' List won a landslide victory over the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS) on October 25, ending 14 years of dominance under former President Aleksandar Vucic, who maintained close relations with Moscow. While the new majority has yet to take power, prosecutors have moved on cases that had long remained stalled.
Four people were arrested on suspicion of vote-buying in Novi Sad, and six others were detained in Mali Zvornik on suspicion of helping citizens from Bosnia and Herzegovina register their residence in Serbia to vote. Davor Macura, the owner of Alta Bank, was arrested on suspicion of illegally accessing the bank's vault and removing the equivalent of about €383 million ($430 million). Senior police officials, the head of the Republic Hydrometeorological Institute and several managers of public companies have also been arrested over suspected abuses of office and rigged public procurement procedures.
An unusual episode took place on November 3. Air Serbia flight JU134 from Belgrade to Moscow was already deep in Lithuanian airspace when the crew received instructions to return. Among the passengers were three senior figures from the old regime: Aleksandar Vulin, former defense and interior minister and former head of the Security Intelligence Agency; Dusan Bajatovic, long-serving director of state-owned gas company Srbijagas; and Nenad Popovic, a minister without portfolio. According to unofficial reports, the plane was turned back because Vulin had allegedly boarded without undergoing mandatory security screening. Vulin has been under US sanctions since 2023 over what Washington described as 'engaging in corrupt and destabilizing activities that undermine the rule of law in the Western Balkans'.
Prosecutor Bojana Savovic told DW that the sudden action from prosecutors shows 'what they could have done but were unwilling to do until just ten days ago'. She said she hoped the speed would not come at the expense of indictment quality and that these were not personal vendettas within the old regime. Tanja Arsic, an incoming MP from the Students' List, told DW: 'When you want the rule of law and when you want something to be done, it is possible. Our regulations allow for it. But it was obvious that there were people obstructing the entire system, putting cases in drawers and leaving them unresolved.'
In the days after the election, reports and video footage suggested official documents may have been removed or destroyed in state institutions and public companies. On October 29, Prosecutor General Zagorka Dolovac issued a binding instruction to all chief public prosecutors to prevent the destruction of official and other records.
Former President Vucic said he is not afraid of being arrested and that no evidence of financial wrongdoing will be found against him. 'I don't sign or do anything when it comes to money, and nothing can be found in that regard,' he said.
Both Savovic and Arsic warned against rushing. 'It would be tragic if the biggest players, whose arrests are expected, were prosecuted without sufficient evidence. Or if they were charged with something far less serious than what they actually did,' Arsic said. Savovic argued that lasting transformation requires fundamental changes in the judiciary, police and security structures: 'For decades, people whose only qualification was blind obedience, reading the political climate and self-censorship were promoted in the prosecution service and the courts.'